River City United Soccer Club
Parents and Players
Standards and Procedures
River City United Soccer Club (“RCUSC”) desires that all players have the greatest possible experience in youth soccer. All players and parents must adhere to the following:
PLAYERS
100% attendance/100% effort, Participation in training and games with a terrific attitude and great effort are essential to skills development. Failure to participate regularly in training or games can affect a player’s ability to maintain his or her roster position. Please notify your team manager in advance if you will not be in attendance at a game or training session.
Be prepared:
• Arrive on time – at or before the time designated by your team manager
• Wear the appropriate gear – uniform/training tee, cleats and shin guards
• Bring your equipment – water and an inflated soccer ball of the appropriate size and all additional uniform pieces
• Be practice/game ready – get enough sleep and proper nutrients prior to a practice and/or game.
Sportsmanship. Demonstrate good sportsmanship at all times toward coaches, opponents, referees, and parents of opposing players. Soccer is not merely a beautiful game; soccer is a passion shared by cultures worldwide. It unites people everywhere under the banner of fair competition. Our players are part of that passion. To succeed, soccer players must, before anything else, respect the game. Arguments and inappropriate behavior in games demonstrate a lack of respect for soccer and will be remembered much longer than individual accomplishments and game results.
Practice with your soccer ball at home. The more time you spend with the ball, the faster your soccer skills will develop.
Teamwork. Encourage your teammates on and off the field. Players gain confidence when they feel valued by their teammates. Positive comments and encouragement to teammates builds team chemistry.
Learn. Watch soccer. Go to higher level games, watch matches on television. Players can learn from watching how the experts play the game.
PARENTS
In general:
Trust the system. Every youth soccer player develops at his or her own unique pace. Each player is placed onto a team based on where the RCUSC director of coaching and coaching staff determines is best for that player at that moment in time.
Arrive on time. Please organize your schedule to make participation in all training sessions, games and tournaments a priority. If there is the occasional conflict, please contact your team manager in advance.
Pay on time. RCUSC has a No pay No play policy, If players do not pay their fees on time, RCUSC cannot pay staff, maintain equipment, hire referees, pay association fees, etc. Players may not participate in training sessions or games if fees are delinquent.
RCUSC team managers spend several hours per week organizing team matters so the team will always be ready to play. If the team manager requests parent help, please help.
Stay calm. Please do not approach an RCUSC coach or team manager with questions about a game or practice until at least 24 hours after the game or practice to let the heat of the moment pass
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At games and practices:
Let the staff coach. Simply put, please encourage without instructing. The players are being taught how to play soccer and must learn to make their own decisions on the field, no matter what those decisions look like to those of us who are watching them play. Any time parents shout comments like “Kick it!” “Shoot!” or “Boot it!” it is, almost 100% of the time, contrary to the coach’s instructions to the players, and it’s confusing to the players.
Coaches. The Club strives to have a coach at all games, but logistical realities make this impossible at times. Coaches should touch base with the DOC ahead of time so plans can be made to cover the game. In some cases where staff is not present, the team manager may have to coach the team.
Be positive. Avoid negative or sarcastic comments to RCUSC players, referees, opposing players or parents of the opposing team. Negative comments are hurtful and are not in the spirit of the game.
Never communicate with the referee. The RCUSC coach and the team manager should be the ONLY adults communicating with the referee either during or after the game, without exception. Don’t be that parent! It’s embarrassing to the child, the team, the club, and you.
Remain on the spectators’ sideline. Parents should watch the game exclusively from the sideline opposite their RCUSC team’s sideline, not the goal line or team side, and are not permitted to enter onto the field at any time without the referee’s permission. The RCUSC coach and the team manager are the only adults permitted onto the team sideline during the game and during halftime. In the event of injury, the referee will signal the RCUSC coach if attention to the player is required. The RCUSC coach will then signal parents as necessary.
Note: Soccer rules permit referees to send off coaches and/or team managers of teams whose parents enter the field or come onto the players’ sideline or otherwise demonstrate behavior that puts the game or the players’ experience of the game at risk.
Private training sessions: The RCUSC coaching staff is available for individual or group training sessions for registered RCUSC players. To arrange a private training session with an RCUSC staff member, parents should contact the DOC to determine specific extra training wants and needs as well as availability and cost. Two key rules apply: No RCUSC staff member may transport a player or players to or from a private training session; and an adult, other than RCUSC staff, must be present at all times during any private training session.
PLAYING TIME
RCUSC leaves the ultimate decisions regarding playing time with the teams Head Coach. The Head Coach has final authority regarding who plays, and how much, on a game to game basis. Determinations are made by but not limited to the following.
• Arrives to practice and games promptly at the time directed by the Team Coach,
• Attends practice regularly with all required equipment/gear: cleats, shin guards, practice jersey, water and ball along with any assigned homework.
• Is committed to the team (make attendance at practices and games a high priority),
• Has paid their fees in full are current on payments to the club and team.
Behaves respectfully to all teammates, coaches, opposing players and officials at practices or games and not disruptive at practice or games.
• Displays a wiliness to work hard and be competitive at practice and games.
• Strives to play within the competitive nature of the game.
LEVEL OF PLAY
Decisions as to which gaming leagues and brackets in which teams will play are made exclusively by the RCUSC coaching staff and Director of Coaching.
PLAY-UP POLICY
As a general rule, RCUSC players play within their natural age group. However, we recognize that in certain cases, due to a player’s exceptional ability, advanced physical or emotional development and/or a high appetite for soccer, opportunities for that player to train or compete in older age groups may be appropriate. We also recognize that a player may attend school in a grade that is older than the grade commonly associated with the player’s natural age group. In such a case, opportunities for the player to compete in older age groups may be appropriate as well. Opportunities to compete in older age groups may include attending additional training sessions, participating as a guest player in games or tournaments or by officially rostering to a team of an older age group.
Sending a player to train or play with a team in an older age group impacts the experiences and opportunities of the players naturally assigned to the receiving age group. Moreover, it can impact the player’s natural age group in ways that are not in the best interest of the other players in the player’s natural age group or the club. For these reasons, opportunities for players to train or compete in an older age group may be limited or restricted by the club. Furthermore, playing up is an ongoing process and requires regular evaluation. An opportunity to play into an older age group in one instance does not guarantee or entitle the player to have subsequent play up experiences. Such opportunities are evaluated and determined on an ongoing basis by the DOC.
Play up decisions are made on a case by case bases by the DOC
LATE TEAM FORMATION AND TRYOUT
In some cases, RCUSC may need to merge age groups to form a hybrid team or may have a player that moves to the area after teams have been formed. In the event that all age appropriate teams are formed and there is not a roster space available in the player’s natural age group, the player could play at the next age group assuming space is available, and only after being evaluated by our coaching staff and approved by the Director of Coaching. Player(s) playing-up in this situation, are required to be evaluated within their natural age group the following season.
PROCEDURES FOR PLAYER VIOLATIONS OF RCUSC STANDARDS
The following summarizes procedures regarding parent and player violations of Club Standards and for airing grievances.
RCUSC players are required to adhere to the standards of the club. Violations will be presented to our Club President and Director of Coaching for review and action.
In the event that a player demonstrates unsportsmanlike or inappropriate conduct at a game or training session, as determined by the player’s Coach or Team Manager, the Coach or Team Manager can take any of the following actions:
• Immediately remove the player from the practice or the game for inappropriate behavior.
• Refer the matter to the RCUSC President and/or the Director of Coaching for review and possible sanction. The matter will be investigated and a determination will be made as to what, if any, sanctions will apply. Sanctions may include, but are not necessarily limited to a warning, suspension, probation, and/or dismissal from the Club. Our procedures will be in accordance with all state and/or local guidelines for participation and promoting the mission and values of RCUSC. In all cases of disciplinary sanction, the decisions of our President and Director of Coaching are final and not subject to appeal. If there is a suspension or dismissal from Club participation, no refunds shall be given.
PROCEDURES FOR PARENT/GUARDIAN VIOLATIONS OF CLUB STANDARDS
RCUSC parents and guardians are required to adhere to the club standards. Violations of the clubs standards will be brought before the RCUSC President and director of coaching for review and possible sanction. In the event that a parent or guardian violates the clubs standards at a game or training session, as determined by the Coach or Team Manager, either may take any of the following actions:
• Direct the offending parent to leave the field
• Remove the player of the offending parent from the practice or the game and direct both parent and player to leave the field.
• Refer the matter to the RCUSC club President and/or Director of Coaching for review and possible sanction. The matter will be investigated and a determination shall be made as to what, if any, sanctions shall apply. Sanctions may include, but are not necessarily limited to a warning, suspension, probation, and/or dismissal from the Club. RCUSC procedures are in accordance with all state and/or local guidelines for participation and promoting the mission and values of the River City United Soccer Club. In all cases, the decisions of RCUSC President and the Director of Coaching are final and not subject to appeal.
PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING GRIEVANCES
If there is an issue that arises of concern to you as a parent, guardian, or as a member of RCUSC, please follow the procedure described below. Contact information for staff members, age group coordinators, and board members can be found on the Club website.
If the issue concerns the team (which includes parents) on which your child plays or concerns your child directly:
Discuss the matter with your child’s Team Manager.
If the discussion with the Team Manager and the subsequent action, if any was taken, fails to address the issue, then direct your concern to the clubs senior manager.
If you feel the senior manager has not addressed your concerns adequately, you may contact the RCUSC Club President.
If the issue concerns a Team Manager:
First talk to that Team Manager, if possible. If the circumstances are such that talking to the Team Manager or Coach is not a viable option, then talk to the senior manager.
If you feel the senior manager has not addressed your concerns adequately, then you may contact the RCUSC Club President.
If the issue concerns Senior Manager:
First talk to the senior manager, if possible. If the circumstances are such that talking to the senior manager is not a viable option, then you may talk to the RCUSC President.
If the matter concerns the Director of Coaching:
First talk to the Director of Coaching, if possible. If the circumstances are such that talking to the Director of Coaching is not a viable option, then you may contact the RCUSC Club President in that order.
Club Standards Violations:
Any violations of the Clubs Standards or other applicable Club agreements or policies shall be referred to the Club President for further investigation and potential sanctions. Such sanctions may include, but are not necessarily limited too, a warning, suspension, probation, and/or dismissal from the Club. The decisions of our Club President are final and not subject to appeal.
• The foregoing procedures were created to ensure that the needs of our families are met with an open, consistent, and objective manner. If you feel that any unusual circumstances hinder or are outside the scope of these procedures, please contact the Club President for further assistance. If there is a suspension or dismissal from Club participation, no refunds shall be given.